


Cuddle Party

by aretia



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Asexual Malcolm Bright, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Malcolm has a crush on Edrisa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21602236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aretia/pseuds/aretia
Summary: “I went to a cuddle party once. It was okay.”Edrisa introduces Malcolm to the concept of cuddle parties, and to cuddling itself.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Edrisa Tanaka
Comments: 31
Kudos: 169





	Cuddle Party

Malcolm’s therapist had suggested that he needed some more human connection in his life. Sex was too fraught with implications to be anything but stressful—sleeping with someone usually meant spending the night, and that meant letting another person bear witness to his night terrors—so he had dismissed her thoughts on that particular strategy. But Edrisa had sparked the idea of something called a cuddle party, where people could touch without the pressure to have sex, and that sounded like something he could handle. 

Until he walked through the door of the hotel suite, at which moment he realized he was completely out of his depth. People lay draped over couches, beanbag chairs, and mats on the floor in various states of entanglement, while others stood by the refreshment table having an animated conversation. They all looked so comfortable with each other, and Malcolm was anything but comfortable. He didn’t know how he could break into their circle, so he stood off to the side, awkwardly observing. 

He could see why Edrisa liked it so much. She never had any reservations about approaching people, which was one thing he admired about her. Her face had lit up when she mentioned the cuddle party, and once they didn’t have a murder case to solve and it was appropriate to talk about it, he had gotten the information about how to find this place from her.

Even though it had been her idea, she hadn’t given any indication that she was a regular there, so he hoped that he wouldn’t have to confront his storm of conflicting feelings about seeing her in such a context. He wanted to see her, of course, because he liked spending time with her, but he also wanted to absorb the experience for what it was, without being distracted by her and who else had her attention. Being disappointed that she wasn’t there was another way that he was being distracted by her, so he tried to push those thoughts out of his head.

“Malcolm?” He was startled by a familiar voice and a tap on his shoulder. His whole body flinched, and he spun around to face Edrisa, who had walked up behind him. “What are you doing here?” she asked, beaming at him with a smile like captured sunlight. 

It took him a few seconds to recover from his surprise and formulate his response. “Well, based on your glowing recommendation, I decided to give it a shot,” he said. “What about you?”

“This is my third time coming to one of these,” said Edrisa. “Have you met anyone here yet?”

“Not really, I just got here,” said Malcolm. He didn’t want to admit that he had been standing around doing nothing for twenty minutes before she showed up. “I might be a little overdressed.” Malcolm wouldn’t be caught dead outside his apartment in anything less than his usual suit, but everyone else at the party was wearing comfortable, casual clothes. Edrisa looked adorable when she was dressed down, in a slouchy white t-shirt and green capri pants, and he had caught himself staring a few times already.

Edrisa’s smile spread wider than he thought was physically possible. “You’re always overdressed,” she said. 

“So I’ve been told,” Malcolm replied. “It just feels a little more out of place here.”

“It doesn’t matter. No one’s judging you for how you’re dressed,” said Edrisa. “They might judge you if you just stand here like a statue, though. Want to go find a place to sit down?”

“You mean…” He pointed to the couples that were strewn around the floor cuddling, then pointed to Edrisa and then himself. “With me?”

“Oh, I mean, only if you want to,” Edrisa said, holding up her hands as she frantically backtracked.

“No, I… I want to,” Malcolm said. He couldn’t express how much he wanted that. He just wasn’t ready for it to happen this quickly. 

“Okay!” Edrisa took his hand and led him across the room, navigating through the maze of people lying on the floor to an empty beanbag chair in the corner. Edrisa sat down first, flopping down on the beanbag chair with practiced ease. She patted the space beside her. “Have a seat,” she said.

“It’s just, I don’t really know how to do this,” Malcolm admitted. 

“It’s not something you have to learn,” she said. “Come on, just try.”

He slowly lowered himself onto the beanbag chair and sank down into it, keeping his back rigid as ever. He left a few inches of respectful space between himself and Edrisa, even though he desperately longed to close that distance. 

“You seem tense,” Edrisa commented. 

“I’m fine,” Malcolm insisted, even though his stiff posture contradicted that statement. 

“Cuddling releases oxytocin. It will help you relax,” said Edrisa. “Want to try it?”

“Um, okay. Sure,” Malcolm said, but he remained frozen. Luckily, Edrisa took the lead. She shifted so that she was sitting on his lap, and his legs spread to accommodate her. He leaned back, and she lay down on top of his chest, her head nestling into the curve of his neck and shoulder, her nose brushing against the bare skin above his collar. Her arm slipped under him and wrapped around his waist, pulling him close so that there was none of that space left between them. 

“It might help if you relax your arms a little bit,” Edrisa said, nudging the bottom of his jaw with her nose. “Not that cuddling with you is uncomfortable or anything—it’s great! You know, just forget I said anything.”

Malcolm realized that he had been holding his arms at his sides the whole time. He did as she suggested, and reached out his arms to fold around her, resting his hands on the small of her back. “Is this better?” he asked.

“Much better,” she said, sighing happily. “See, you’re a natural at this.”

“I hardly think so,” Malcolm said. “This might be the first time I’ve ever done this with anyone.”

Edrisa lifted her head up to look at him. There was no pity in her eyes, but quite a lot of incredulity. “You’ve never cuddled with anyone before in your life?” she asked.

“Not that I can remember. Not as an adult, anyway,” Malcolm replied. 

“Well, I’m glad you decided to give it a try,” she said. “Do you like it so far?”

“I’m getting used to it,” Malcolm said, which was an understatement. He was enjoying it more than he would like to admit. Nothing short of a new case at work could make him feel the same thrill sparking through his veins as cuddling with Edrisa did. But it wasn’t just excitement that made him want to stay in her arms. A feeling of comfort and calmness overtook him, draining all the tension from his body as he relaxed into the beanbag chair and her embrace. 

Upon further reflection, he realized that he wasn’t really suited to the premise of a cuddle party. He would never be able to feel this unguarded around a stranger who had nothing in common with him other than coming here to do the same thing. But Edrisa was familiar, and that made him feel comfortable and safe around her. The party did give them the benefit of breaking down social barriers, because he didn’t think he would ever get to the point of asking her for something like this if he had to go about it through the traditional means of courting. 

Anyone who knew Malcolm knew that he was always keyed-up. Edrisa had probably never seen him this at ease before, and honestly, that was because he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this way. He let himself bask in the feeling of her weight and warmth against him, without any of his usual worries about everything else going on in his chaotic life. His brow softened, his jaw unclenched, and he closed his eyes.

He couldn’t doze off here, or else he would risk causing a scene, but he drifted between wakefulness and half-sleep, daydreaming about Edrisa. Would he ever get the chance to hold her like this again? Would he have to keep going to these cuddle parties, or would he be able to arrange to do this with her in private? Those were questions he would have to ask her at some point before they left, if he didn’t want to miss his chance. For now, she seemed so peaceful that he didn’t want to disturb her. He nuzzled his face into her hair, drinking in the sensation for as long as it lasted.


End file.
